Stars: Supernova
A supernova (pl. supernovae) is a stellar explosion. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months. During this short interval, a supernova can radiate as much energy as the Sun could emit over its life span. The explosion expels much or all of a star's material at a velocity of up to a tenth the speed of light, driving a shock wave into the surrounding interstellar medium. This shock wave sweeps up an expanding shell of gas and dust called a supernova remnant.
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Supernova Remnants
Definition A supernova is the catastrophic self-destruction of a star. Left behind from this extremely energetic event is an expanding structure of gas known as a supernova remnant. In some cases,...
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Astronomers See Historical Supernova From a New Angle
CAMBRIDGE, MA (April 7, 2010) – Since Galileo first pointed a telescope at the sky 400 years ago, a myriad of technological advances have allowed astronomers to look at very faint objects,...
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Perhaps the most astonishing and revolutionary discovery in cosmology was Edwin Hubble's observation that gala...
A supernova is an exploding star that can become billions of times as bright as the sun before gradually fadin...
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SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO (Feb. 3, 2010) For the first time, astronomers have found a supernova explosion with prop...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL (Dec. 4, 2009) What happens when a really gargantuan star one hundreds of times bigger than ...
BERKELEY, CA (Nov. 5, 2009) An unusual supernova rediscovered in seven-year-old data may be the first example...
WASHINGTON, DC (Jan. 27, 2010) Astronomers studying two exploding stars, or supernovae, have found evidence t...
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